Eire-ladder



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

JOS. IVELTE, OF BUFFALO, NFV YORK.

FIRE-LADDER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 20,752, dated June' 29', 1858.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH VVELTE, of the city of Builalo, in the countyof Erie, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Extension Fire-Ladders and the Manner of Elevating the.Same and in the Arrangement of the Same on a Carriage; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe construction and operation of the same, reference being had to theannexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- FigureI is a longitudinal elevation of the carriage and ladders showing themanner oit elevating the ladders; Fig. II, a plan of the carriagewithout the ladders and Fig. III a plan of the ladders. Fig. IV, is anelevation of t-he ratchets.

Explanation of Fig. I: A, A, A2, lines of ladders placed one above theother. The ladders are held in the proper position by the guide cz. B,frame which supports the ladders when raised on an angle preparatory tobeing extended. This frame is supported on the right-angled levers B andB2, Fig. II, as shown at b, Figs. I and II. B', right angled lever,which in connection with a similar lever B2, Fig. II, supports the frameB. These levers are hinged to the standard C, as shown at c. The objectsof these levers are to allow of the ladders being taken from the carteither before or after being extended. The lever B, is held in place bythe catch e. E, windlass. The object of this windlass is to raise theladders to any angle required. A rope or chain connects the lower end ofthe frame B, to the windlass and since it is hinged at its upper end, itis evident that by turning the windlass, the lower end of the frame willbe drawn toward the windlass and the ladders elevated as required. D,winch handle which works the windlass. F, cast iron bracket whichsupports the windlass. G, is a key which fastens the ladders to theframe B. H, reel, on which are wound ropes which may be used forsteadying the ladders.

Fig. II, is a plan of the carriage and frame B. B, frame which supportsand elevates the ladders. This frame is hinged to the right angledlevers B B2, by means of lthe shaft Z). I, bracket, against which thefoot of the ladder rests when supported by the frame. J, brake. Thisbrake is operated by means of the rods K, L, M, and

screw N, as follows. The screw N, turning in the bracket O, raises ordepresses the rod M. This acting through the rod L, and shaft I), causesthe projecting arm Q, to oscillate and by means of the rods K, draws thebrake J, against the wheels. It, ratchet on the end of the windlass E.S, spring pawl. T, lever' which frees the ratchet from the spring pawl.U, lever whose object is to assist in removing the ladders from the cartor carriage.

Fig'. III, is a plan of the ladders as arranged together. A, upperladder. A', middle ladder. A2, under ladder. This ladder is furnishedwith two windlasses near the bottom for the purposes of extending theladders. V, windlass. A rope or chain leads from this windlass aroundthe pulley IV, on the head of the lower ladder and returns toward thewindlass and is made fast near the foot of the middle ladder. V. is asimilar windlass to V. A rope or chain leads from this windlass over thelower and under the middle ladder and returns over a pulley Z, on theend of the middle ladder and over the middle ladder and under the upperladder andvis made fast to the foot of the upper ladder. The arrangementof these ropes is shown more distinctly by the dotted lines a', y, y,Fig. I. From this arrangement of the ropes it is evident that by turningthe windlass V, the upper ladder will slide upon the middle ladderthrough the guides a, unt-il it has reached its limit. It is alsoevident that by turning the windlass V, the middle ladder will slideupon the lower ladder, carrying with it the upper ladderuntil it reachesits limit. The ladders may then be fastened in their place by the hooks,Z. The windlasses are also provided with ratchet teeth and dogs so thatit is impossible for the ladders to descend unless the dogs are raised.These ratchets and dogs are shown in elevation in Fig. IV.

Operation: The cart being brought to the place where the ladder is to beused, the first step is to press the brake against the wheels and renderthe cart as nearly stationary as possible. One or two men may then takehold of the winch handle and by working the windlass elevate the ladderto the required angle. This being done the small windlass V near thefoot of the ladder may be turned and the upper ladder extended. If thiswill not reach the required height, the windlass V, may be turned andthe middle ladder extended carrying with it the4 upper ladder until itreaches the required height when it may be secured in place as beforedescribed,

If it is desired to take the ladder from the cart the lever B, is freedfrom the catch, 6, and the lever U is thrown over until it rests on theend of the shaft b, as shown by the dotted lines Figs. I and II. Bybearing down on this lever, and steadying by the rope, g, attached tothe lever B', the levers B, B2, turning on the hinge c, the frame B, maybe brought down until the ladders rest on the ground; the key G, beingthen removed the frame B, is disengaged from the ladders and the laddersleft standing against the building. This may be done before the laddersare extended, and the ladders eX- tended afterward. To prevent theladders catching under the eaves of the building, the upper ladder isprovided with two right angled frames, Figs. I, and II. These frames arehinged at their right angle to one of the top rounds of the ladder. Theends of these frames are provided with small cast iron wheels. A ropepassing through one of the arms L may be made to cause the cast ironwheels to roll on the side of the building and keep the ladder farenough from the building to clear the eaves. The ends of the ladders arealso provided with wheels 7c, to lessen the friction when being raisedagainst the building. The ladders may be lowered so that the footthereof will rest upon the ground without removing the same from thecarriage by allowing the levers B and B2, to turn on the joint e, asalready described. The prongs, o, t, will prevent the ladder' fromslipping on the ground. This arrangement of the ladders is very usefuland effective for re companies, as it ena-bles the firemen to elevatethe ladders easily and quickly and without danger, in narrow streets, inalleys and in yards when it would be impossible to get room enough toraise the ladders in the ordinary way. They may be raised to aperpendicular line and ascended with safety, or they may pass theperpendicular and rest against the building at an obtuse angle from thebody of the carriage.

This improvement will be found of great utility in cases of lire.

I do not claim the ladders herein described nor their combination, northe eX- tension thereof by any means. Neither do I claim hinging theladders to the carriage.

I claiml. The combination of the right-angled levers B and B2, hinged tothe carriage, with the frame B and windlass E for the purpose ofelevating the ladders and lowering the foot thereof easily to the groundand for detaching the same from the carriage substantially as herein setforth.

2. I also claim the combination of the right angled frame 7L, 7L,including-the wheels z', z', with the topmost ladder, for the purposesas herein set forth.

JOSEPH WELTE.

Witnesses E. B. FORBUSH, W. H. FoRBUsH.

